III. Answer of the question, What shall it profit a man if he
shall gain the whole world and lose his soul? The answer itself
is, nothing. The question itself is an emphatic negative. This is
a common form of expressing the strongest denial.

IV. But how much would he lose, if he should gain the whole
world and lose his soul?

I answer --

1. The two things cannot be compared. We have already seen that
the loss of the soul is the loss of endless happiness, and that it
incurs endless misery.

Whatever is endless is boundless in that direction; and
whatever is bounded can never be compared with that which is
boundless. In this case the law of contrast, and not that of
comparison, applies. The loss and the gain can be contrasted, but
never compared.

It is true that the loss of the soul is not an infinite evil,
in an absolute sense. Neither the happiness nor the misery of
finite creatures, can ever become in amount absolutely
infinite.

Yet as the quantity is ever growing--although at every period
of the future it will fall short of being absolutely
infinite--still, as it has no bounds, it is to all purposes of
comparison, infinite; because it is an ever growing quantity,
having no bounds beyond which it does not pass.

The worth of the world is a finite quantity, and can therefore
be easily measured and estimated. But the worth of the soul is an
ever-growing, and in this sense a boundless, or infinite quantity,
and can, therefore, never be estimated. The world is estimable;
the soul is literally inestimable. No arithmetic can compute it;
no finite mind grasp it. Indeed, God Himself must see that that
which is an ever-growing quantity can never be compared with that
the amount of which can be estimated, and expressed in numbers.
The value of the world, then, is as nothing against infinity.

2. To gain the whole world would be to gain, after all, but
little. And in fact, for a human being to possess the world, would
be to him really no good at all; it would only load him with an
ocean of cares, and anxieties, and perplexities, from which he
could reap really no solid benefit. It would prove to him only
what it did to Solomon; and Solomon, be it remembered, possessed
as much of it as he knew what to do with. Like Solomon, he would
find it vanity of vanities, and vexation of spirit.

It would really be worse for a man, as far as his own happiness
was concerned, than the most abject poverty.

But the loss of the soul is really a boundless evil. It is as
immeasurable as infinity. No finite mind can grasp it; the
contemplation of it is overwhelming. No contemplation can reach
the amount of loss that would be incurred by losing the soul; nor
could it in the least approach it.

You cannot, by calculation, approach a limit, where there is
none. This is so simple a statement that even a child can
understand it. Let any schoolboy in this assembly attempt to
exhaust the number five, by dividing it by three, and he will find
that he may divide it by three forever without exhausting it, or
in the least degree approaching a termination. This is a curious,
but a well-known fact. Even in so simple a case as this, you
cannot exhaust five by dividing it by three, should you continue
the process to all eternity.

I make this remark for the sake of illustration. To lose the
soul is to incur an ever-growing quantity of misery, and to lose
an ever-growing quantity of happiness.

Neither of these, happiness or misery, can have any bound in
the case supposed. There is no line in that direction. In degree
there is limit, both in the case of happiness and misery; but in
duration, there is no limit in either case. Therefore comparison
is out of the question. All that can be said is, the gain is
really nothing in case you gain the world. The more a man has of
the world beyond a certain amount, the worse it is for him. It
becomes to him a real trouble and a burden; and beyond a certain
amount, he can neither enjoy nor dispose of it.

Possessing too much of the world, is like a man's eating too
much for his dinner. A certain amount is useful to him; but let
him go beyond that, and all that he eats is an injury to him, and
he may easily proceed to surfeiting and death in that
direction.

That man is as really mad, who attempts to get more of the
world than is good for him, as that man is who eats enormously,
and much more than he can digest, for the sake of gratifying his
appetite.

Mr. Law has said, that a man is as poorly employed in
attempting to lay up a hundred thousand pounds sterling, as he
would be in providing for himself a hundred thousand pairs of
boots and shoes.

Let it be understood, then, that whenever a man possesses more
of the world than he can usefully use and appropriate for the good
of mankind and for the glory of God, he is contributing to his own
misery, and not to his own happiness. He is loading himself down
with cares and anxieties, that will crush and ruin him.

V. Let us, for a moment, reverse the question in the text. What
will it profit to lose the world and save your soul?

Suppose you do not gain this world's goods; suppose you barely
possess the necessaries of life; nay, suppose you live in the most
abject poverty for the few days you have to remain in this world,
and save your soul.

In a few days you will rest from all your poverty, and enter
upon the possession of eternal riches, and heir of God and a joint
heir with Christ, surrounded with all the wealth, and glories, and
blessedness of heaven, and that to all eternity.

How much, then, do you gain, over and above the loss sustained
by not having the world?

The answer is plainly that there is no comparison in the case.
Only it may be said, that you have gained infinite riches, and
have really lost nothing that was of any importance. You have all
the necessaries of life; and if at any time you were straitened in
circumstances and had not food enough to eat, this very poverty
was made useful to you, and was upon the whole a benefit rather
than a loss.

Talk of material wealth! Why you gain more thus, if you lose
the world and save your soul, than the whole material universe is
worth--really, infinitely more. The loss is as nothing; the gain,
infinite.

REMARKS

1. You have only to neglect your soul, and its loss is
inevitable. The Apostle asks, "How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation?"

This question also is an emphatic one, as if the Apostle had
said, It is impossible to escape if we neglect so great
salvation.

The fact is, the soul of every unconverted sinner is in a lost
state. Without faith in Christ, it is condemned already, under the
law, and exposed to eternal destruction. A man need not go about
to commit this, and that, and the other heinous sin. He is already
a sinner; he is condemned, awaiting his execution; and he has only
to remain in this impenitent, unbelieving state, and the loss of
his soul is as certain as his existence. Sinner, now remember that
if you neglect your soul, and neglect the gospel, your damnation
is as certain and as inevitable as if you had already been in hell
for a thousand years.

Do not forget this; for a great many persons talk as if--why,
they do not do anything very bad. They do not know, they say, if
they should die in their present state, whether God could justly
send them to hell. They seem to think it a doubtful question
whether they should lose their souls, if they should die in their
present situation. Now this is an awful infatuation.

The soul is already in a lost condition, already condemned,
already under sentence of eternal death. Sinner, you need only to
die instantly, to wake up in hell. Hence you are expected to
escape, to lay hold of eternal life, to give all diligence to
repent and believe the gospel, and what you do, to do quickly.
How, then, can you escape, if you neglect to attend, and that
effectually, to the salvation of your soul!

2. It is wise for every sinner to inquire, What are my
prospects? Am I likely to be saved; or much more likely to be
lost? How is it with me thus far? Have I done anything effectually
for the salvation of my soul? Or have I been trying to gain the
world while I have neglected my soul? Business men inquire into
their business prospects. They calculate the chances for and
against them; they look the matter over, examine their books, look
into their business relations, and look at their debts and
credits, and see how their matters stand.

Now, Sinner, have you ever done this in regard to your soul?
You look over your matters in a worldly point of view, to see how
much you are gaining or losing; but have you ever looked over your
spiritual concerns, to see what they are? Have you cared for your
soul? or are you only caring for your body? Are you laying up
treasures for eternity or only for time?

3. The folly of neglecting the soul is infinite. I know of no
other word than infinite that can express it. There can be no
limit to the absolute madness of neglecting the soul.

To save the soul is the great errand of life, the infinitely
important concern, the one thing needful, the great business and
errand upon which God has sent us into this world. If we attend to
the soul, eternity is secure; if we neglect the soul, eternity is
lost. And to think of a soul's being ushered into this life, and
commanded to prepare for an eternal state; and then to neglect it,
to die in sin, and be obliged at last to say, "I have been an
infinite fool, I have lost my soul!"

4. It is time to take a stand against the spirit of delay in
this matter.

We sometimes see men, in worldly matters, act as if they were
in a kind of infatuation. There is some important matter to which
they ought to attend; but somehow or other the spirit of delay
takes possession of them, and they keep putting it off, and
putting it off. Some persons seem to have this infirmity in regard
to almost everything of a worldly nature.

They delay, and delay; and delay becomes with them a habit, so
that you can really depend on them for nothing. This habit of
delay in worldly matters, is sure to bring ruin in its train. No
person will ever prosper in worldly matters who contracts this
habit of delay in worldly business. Persons are peculiarly in
danger of contracting this habit in respect to things which are
not congenial to their feelings, things to which they dread to
attend.

Now in regard to spiritual things--the carnal mind being enmity
against God, spiritual religion is repulsive to the feelings of
the unconverted soul. The mind is set upon worldly gratifications,
and to deny these and enter into sympathy with Christ, is that to
which the sinner has no heart. Hence the infinite danger of
contracting the habit of delay.

Indeed, this is the great sin that ruins the millions--it is
simply this habit of delay.

When very young, they think there is time enough, of course;
and as they grow older, they contract the habit of delay more and
more firmly, flattering themselves that there is time enough. They
always expect, at some future time to attend to their souls. They
do not mean always to neglect it; but as it is not congenial to
their feelings, they put it off for the present.

Now for this there is no remedy, but for men to set reason to
work, as we say, and take a decided stand against the spirit of
delay. I say, this spirit of delay; for it seems as if there was a
spirit in it, an evil spirit. It is a strange infatuation, a moral
insanity that seems to take possession of the soul.

There seems to be no end to this delay, delay, delay.

You talk with a Sabbath School child, and he will put it off;
you talk with him when he is a young man, and he will still delay.
You talk with him in middle age, and exhort him in an earnest
manner--there is still time enough. Talk with him in the decline
of life, and his habit of delay has become so strong, that he will
finally put it off till his death-bed. And when he can put it off
no longer for years, he will adjourn the question from day to day,
and then from hour to hour, till at last he will sink down to hell
under this horrible infatuation of delay.

5. Every man should act in regard to the salvation of his soul,
as prudent men do in worldly matters.

Prudent business men do not allow things to be put off where
they run a great risk.

Should one of you learn tonight that your whole estate was
liable to be lost through some fraud or some defect in your title,
and should you understand that if now attended to thoroughly, all
might be secure, but that every hour's delay exposed you to the
loss of all you have, would you sleep till you had made all
secure, if possible? If you would, you are not a prudent man.

Would you allow things to run on in this loose way from day to
day? No, indeed! you would not give sleep to your eyes, nor
slumber to your eyelids, till you had satisfied yourself that all
was secure. Now this is prudence in worldly matters. Great
interests are at stake; and it is remarkable that a man should be
prudent, and wise, and energetic in attending to such matters in
such circumstances.

But what is the reason that you are not acting thus in regard
to your spiritual concerns? Are you neglecting your soul? Then you
know that this is infinite imprudence.

If you should lose your worldly estate, you might, by industry,
and economy, and greater prudence, recover yourself; and obtain at
least a competency for this life. The loss might not be
irreparable; it might not plunge you into endless poverty. But
remember that if you lose your soul, the loss is eternal; it is
irreparable; there is no remedy for it; there is no recovering
yourself; you have lost all that is valuable, and that to all
eternity; you have incurred all that is dreadful and horrible, and
that to all eternity.

6. What change would a realizing belief in this fundamental
truth necessarily secure!

While men profess to believe in the truths of religion, in the
worth of the soul, they in fact do not believe it. That is, they
do not believe it in such a sense that they realize its truth.
They admit it; but they do not truly believe it. It is by them in
a certain sense admitted--in a misty, unrealizing sense; but as
soon as this truth is believed in the sense of its becoming to the
mind a fact, a reality, it arouses all the energies of the soul.
Just think how differently men would conduct themselves, did they
believe that every moment's delay exposes them to the loss of the
soul.

How serious, how earnest, how devout, how feeling, how tender,
how truthful, how honest, would men become! Indeed, it would
greatly change all the business operations of the world; and human
society would become another affair. Instead of the vast scramble
after the world, the lusting after earthly pleasures, the
incessant cry for more, and more, and more of earthly good, the
world would lose its hold upon mankind in a great measure.

The whole world would take on a type of behavior, of spirit,
and life, so fundamentally different from what we now see, that we
should hardly recognize this as the same world. Even the Church,
did she but steadily realize this great truth, would become so
changed as hardly to be known as the same people.

But 7. It is maintained by some, that the souls of the wicked
will be annihilated at death; or if not at death, that still they
will not be immortal, and will not suffer forever. Now suppose
this to be true--which surely, if reason or Revelation are to be
trusted, it cannot be--but suppose that it is true, what then
would a man gain if he should gain the whole world, and be
annihilated?

Suppose he did not incur eternal death--as in this case he
would not--still he would lose eternal happiness, eternal glory,
eternal holiness and communion with God. He would lose, at least,
an infinite amount of good--and what would he gain? Nothing, of
any real value to him.

There would be, in this case, no computing the loss, no
possibility of any finite conception of it.

He has lost his existence; it is blotted out; he has no more
life, no more consciousness, no more good. Instead of an eternal
existence of ever-growing enjoyment, he is cut short; and, like
the beast that perisheth, he is lost in annihilation.

8. But let me ask one more question. What are the chances,
either in your favor or against you, in this case? How old are
you? How many years have you lived in sin? How much privilege, and
how much light have you enjoyed? How many times have you resisted
your conscience, and the strivings of the Holy Spirit?

How many prayers have been offered for you? and how much has
God done that you have resisted and condemned?

Are you aware how great a proportion of mankind that are ever
converted, are converted when they are young? Are you not, many of
you, at least, past the age that leaves you much room for a
rational expectation that you will ever be converted? Have you not
already hardened your heart, resisted the Spirit, and gone so far
in sin as that the habit of delay has become so fixed, that you
stand but a very slight chance of ever being converted?

Now, so far as we see the grace of God taking effect among men,
by far the majority of men live and die in sin. Again, of those
that are converted, by far the majority of them are converted
under twenty years of age. Comparatively few are converted that
live on in sin to be forty years of age; and only now and then one
in old age is converted. How many chances, then, to one, do you
think some of you stand of losing your soul?

Can you rationally expect to be saved any farther than as a
mere peradventure, a possibility that you may be? You know that if
you make sure of the present moment, you may be saved. But
hitherto you have put it off; and are you not likely to put it
off?

Some of you may have quenched the Spirit already, may have
extinguished His light; you may already be reprobate because the
Lord has rejected you for your spirit of delay. But suppose you
are not already given up of God, is there much reason to believe
you will ever effectually attend to your salvation?

When will you do so?

9. Are not worldly men mad? They call Christians crazy; they
say that we are insane. But they know better. They know that if
any men have any claim to rationality, it is those who seriously
attend to the salvation of their souls.

But I ask the question, are not worldly men insane? Should they
treat their worldly interests as they do their spiritual
interests, would not any court in Christendom, upon proof,
pronounce them insane?

Yes, indeed. Go into any court, having jurisdiction in the
case, and prove that any man treats his worldly interests as
sinners treat their spiritual and eternal interests, and the court
would pronounce them insane, and grant them a commission of lunacy
to prevent them from ruining themselves in a worldly point of
view. O that a commission of lunacy could be sued out in the high
Court of Chancery above, and men compelled to attend to the
salvation of their souls! But this is a question that can never be
taken out of their hands. In worldly matters, the earthly courts
can take the possessions of a mad man and dispose of them in such
a way that he cannot squander them. But in spiritual things, the
madness is moral; it is culpable; it is the madness of a moral
agent. God will not issue a commission of lunacy to compel him to
attend to the salvation of his soul. He will warn him, and urge
him, and strive with him; but after all he must leave him free to
act for himself, and take the consequences.

O Sinner! take care what you do! and let this question in the
text ring in your ears, and murmur in your deepest soul--"What
shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose
his own soul?"

And this other question--"How shall we escape if we neglect so
great salvation?"

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